"However", she continued, "the past weeks have clearly shown that this crisis is about to affect the very roots of the modern day European Union, with member states so closely linked, both economically and politically." Questions have been posed but not answered. What is the essence, what is the final aim and purpose of the European Union? What is a European identity and how far does inter- and intra-European solidarity go?

For younger generations, European cooperation is not any longer a question of ensuring peace, rather a means through which people enjoy increased travel opportunities, the ability to live and work in another country with relative ease and, for some, a project that has assumed too much significance and exceeded its original purpose. The Greek crisis reveals the variations in mindsets and historically and culturally different traditions of the European people.

"To think, simply more Europe is all we need, will no longer be enough", President Neyts continued. "It will not be satisfactory either to refer to the abolishment of borders or no more fees for money exchange as reasons for the European spirit. The European project, as such, needs to be re-established in and for the 21^st Century", she concluded.